This morning the Labor Department unveiled news that the economy added 155,000 jobs, which was disappointing to those who saw signs of stronger growth from private data released earlier this week. The unemployment rate remained steady at 7.8 percent.

"I think it's important to look at the bigger picture," says Alan Krueger, chair of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. "We have seen this gradual progress over the last 34 months where we have added over 5 million private sector jobs."

Krueger notes that job growth has been uneven among different income groups.

"We have faced an issue for a very long time in the U.S. where the middle class was under stress, that's a long -term problem. I think that the president has proposed a number of ways to address that including investing more in education, making smart investments in our infrastructure, developing our domestic energy, and strengthening manufacturing."

To hear Krueger's take on how the ongoing fiscal cliff negotiations are impacting the business community, click on the audio player above.

Jeff Horwich is the interim host of Marketplace Morning Report and a sometime-Marketplace reporter. He is the former host of "In The Loop" from Minnesota Public Radio and a former business and economics correspondent for MPR. He is a graduate of Duke University and has a Master's in applied...